Jump Over the Flames: The Summer Solstice in Barcelona, Spain

Summer is a sweet time in the Northwestern United States. Photo by Joel Holland.

By Regina Winkle-Bryan

Officially, summer began in the Northern Hemisphere on June 20th. If you’re like me, you’re wondering how it’s already June; how a whole half a year just disappeared into a fog of COVID, media overload, and Hulu sitcoms.

But here we are.

Many cultures have summer solstice parties, welcoming the longer days and short nights. Karl JK Hedin.

Summer is a sweet time, especially here in the Northwest, where I live. The sun comes out and my energy is brighter, my optimism boosted. The (constant) clouds lift and the rain tapers off. I start to harvest what I’ve planted in my garden: peas, lettuce, kale, herbs.

There is no official holiday to kick off summer in the United States, but there should be. Some say it’s Memorial Day weekend or whenever school is out for the kids. But we don’t have a Midsummer’s party like they do in Sweden, for example, when warm weather and longer daylight hours are celebrated heartily by all.

Friends gather on the beaches to celebrate the summer solstice. Photo by Henry Perks.

When I lived in Barcelona, we welcomed summer with the Sant Joan festival, also known as the Revetlla de Sant Joan, or simply La Verberna. This wild party always reminded me a bit of the Fourth of July because of the pyrotechnical displays put on by the city and residents. Sant Joan is a great time to experience the thrill of a Catalan correfoc (a firecracker parade of sorts) or see the dancing Barcelona Giants in all their festive splendor.

To get the fiesta started, many revelers amass on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and create large bonfires. (The Sant Joan bonfires create a nice playa-party ambiance, but they were traditionally lit to ward off “evil” spirits that roam around on Midsummer’s Eve.) They bring music, food, candles, booze, and as many of their friends as they can gather together. The debauchery lasts until the wee hours of the morning, and numerous spent partygoers pass out on the beach and are awakened in the morning by tractor-like sand cleaning machines sifting through the aftermath debris.

Make a wish and throw it to the flames. Jump over the fire seven times for good luck. Joshua Newton.

Some people also believe Sant Joan is a good time to make a wish. The thinking is that if you write a wish on a piece of paper and submit it to the fire, it is more likely to come true. Another superstition embraced by the limber (and drunk?) is to jump over a bonfire seven times. If successful, the jumper enjoys a year of good luck and a month of singed leg hair.

If you don’t want to toss yourself over open flames, then you might try another Sant Joan tradition: a midnight swim. Those who take a dip at midnight will cleanse themselves of bad energy and are promised a better year, which makes me wonder if I could get the same effect in a swimming pool or the Puget Sound.

We could all use a better year.

Cava and coca de Sant Joan are commonly served to celebrate the summer. Photo by Alexander Naglestad.

As you have probably already guessed, Sant Joan has deep pagan roots despite the Christian moniker. According to Barcelona’s official city website, “The tradition long predates the introduction of Christianity. It is from a cult of the sun, celebrating the lengthening of the day and the summer solstice.”

All good parties have special foods. This is especially true in Spain. Sant Joan is no different. There are big communal dinners held outdoors along the sidewalks and plazas in Barcelona, and the star of the show is the coca de Sant Joan, a sugary bread-cake that goes really well with cold cava on a hot June night. Here’s a coca recipe for you to try at home. You can get cava in most stores in the wine/champagne section.

As the sun goes down in Barcelona, the Sant Joan celebrations get started. Photo by Kevin Horvat.

This year has been by far the strangest I have experienced in my lifetime. I am not in Spain, where, due to the pandemic, this year’s Sant Joan festivities were more subdued than normal, spoiling everyone’s fun. However, I like the idea of lighting some wood in my backyard fire pit and throwing a few wishes onto the flames while at the same time potentially warding off any “evil” spirits or bad juju that is hanging around. Because frankly, there is a lot to be anxious about in the world these days. If nothing else, it’s all a good excuse to relax by a fire while sipping some bubbly cava.